13 years on: Bidzina Ivanishvili reflects on historic victory that shaped modern Georgia

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday released a statement marking the 13th anniversary of the 2012 electoral victory, calling it one of the most important achievements in the history of the independent Georgia.

“It has been 13 years since the most important victory in the history of independent Georgia. October 1 has become a symbol of unity, dignity, and the triumph of good over evil for modern Georgia!

October 1, 2012, holds a special and distinguished place alongside the remarkable victories achieved throughout Georgia’s centuries-long history, because this day became, in the 35-year history of our country’s renewed independence, a decisive watershed between, on one side, authoritarianism, submission to external interests, fear, and terror, and on the other side, democracy, loyalty to national sovereignty, and freedom!

This day does not belong to any specific individuals or political party - the true creator of October 1 is the Georgian people, who are faithful to the exhortations of our ancestors, to traditions, and to Christian values, and who have never bowed before internal or external enemies!

The Georgian people are distinguished by one special quality that we have developed throughout our centuries-long history of struggle - in critical moments for the country, when the threat of destruction becomes real, we always choose the right side. We always manage to distinguish black from white, and we stand where freedom, justice, mutual respect, love, dignity, and independence are found.

October 1, 2012, was founded precisely on these ideals and became the inevitable conclusion of the struggle that I, the Georgian Dream, and, above all, the Georgian people personally began in 2011 against internal enemies submissive to external forces.

Thirteen years is indeed a long time, yet the ideals of October 1, 2012, have not disappeared, and these values remain the main foundation of our team’s actions. The best judge of this is still the wise Georgian people, who even today give us the right to represent them just as they did in 2012, and whom no one can deceive - neither with lies, nor with propaganda, nor with promises!

Since this historic victory, we have been striving together to achieve greater welfare, prosperity, and economic stability. Step by step, we are advancing toward true independence and firm sovereignty. However, on this path, the greatest barrier comes from forces that create radicalism, mutual confrontation, and artificial discord - forces that now, under the name of the opposition, fight against their own people and country, attempting to drag us back into the past, inertia, and submission to foreign interests.

Despite their attempts, we have indeed achieved tangible results. Setting aside propaganda and harsh rhetoric, it is evident even to the naked eye that since gaining independence, the Government of the Georgian Dream is the only ruling force that has maintained uninterrupted peace. At the same time, there is not a single sector in which the situation has not improved dramatically compared to 2012 - as confirmed by numerous international rankings, research based on objective criteria, and, most importantly, the Georgian people themselves, who continue to trust us and grant us the mandate to govern the country!

The past 13 years are a logical continuation of our centuries-long existence. In 2012, we not only survived but also triumphed. However, if we do not safeguard the freedom we have gained, we will lose everything we have built over so many years. This is precisely the essence of Georgia’s history - a constant struggle expressed at different times through self-sacrifice for survival, the achievement of independence, the formation of a respectable state, and the preservation of the homeland, language, and faith - the core defining elements of Georgian identity. Today we continue to fight, but against a transformed enemy and new challenges. Today, the front line of our struggle lies in preserving peace and stability, which is the only path toward development, a better future, and a united Georgia.

We must clearly understand that today we are once again walking on a razor’s edge and have no right to stumble. We must realise that the constant struggle for sovereignty and independence requires constant vigilance.

Of course, there have been mistakes over the past 13 years; however, fortunately, not of such a magnitude that would have threatened our statehood or physical existence, nor of such a magnitude that could not be corrected and remedied.

For me personally, the heaviest burden is that over the past years there was also treacherous betrayal within our team, which not only placed theGeorgian Dream in crisis but also created a real threat of diverting our country from its development path and returning to power forces submissive to foreign interests. In the past, several members of our team decided that submitting to influential foreign forces or seeking personal comfort at the expense of harming our citizens’ interests could bring them great benefit, and therefore it was worth setting aside the interests of the team and the country. Yet, we endured this as well! Throughout this process, just as since 2011, the support of Georgian society, of our wise people, gave me and us the will to fight, strengthened our belief that we could overcome any difficulty.

And indeed, it was precisely constant vigilance, standing on the side of truth, and persistent efforts to strengthen sovereignty that brought us to the point where we exposed every traitor and compelled internal enemies to admit that their actions were driven not by national, but by foreign interests. Specific foreign forces, hiding behind the mask of friend and partner, were openly forced to acknowledge that they demand our submission to their interests!

That is precisely why pressure and blackmail against our country and people have increased, taking various forms. Naturally, on the backdrop of external challenges and destructive wars in the region, attacks on our sovereignty are becoming more frequent and intense. However, certain forces are compelled to carry these out not through internal enemies, as they have done for years, but through the hands of external enemies.

On this backdrop, their supporting agents operating within the country - who are abundantly scattered across opposition parties and the so-called non-governmental sector - may seem to have weakened, yet we must clearly understand what forces are attempting to subjugate our country for their own interests.

For them, it is no problem to distract our citizens by replacing one recognizable face with another, one party with another, or even one television channel with another. They can bring forth new foreign politicians and so-called influential experts to act against Georgia, replacing those of a similar kind already exposed in lies. However, they fail to grasp that they can no longer deceive us. Today, our society listens attentively to ideas and opinions, and based on analysis, draws logical conclusions. Most importantly, for the Georgian people, authority does not come from specific names, titles, or artificially created influential politicians - it comes from the truth!

And yet, over the past 13 years, the greatest achievement of the Georgian Dream is that the team has learned the ability to correctly assess events and facts. At the same time, an equally great achievement is that society has grown together with us and has itself learned to make sound analyses in order to call things by their true names. Together with the Georgian people, we have successfully neutralised the main weapon that the previous Government, subordinated to foreign patrons, had - presenting white as black, construction as destruction, and good as evil. Together with society, we have successfully neutralised the imposed pseudo-liberal ideology that would portray a criminal regime as the light of democracy while calling a truly democratic government a dictatorship. Today we no longer make qualitative mistakes in judging who is a friend and who is an enemy. We have clearly understood that no foreign force strives to help us - everyone is driven by their own interests and desires.

Of course, we do not refuse partnership with anyone, but this must not come at the expense of weakening our country’s sovereignty or using Georgia for others’ purposes. We firmly stand by the position that partnership and friendship must be mutual.

In terms of protecting our unity, the ideals of October 1, and the achievements and gains of past years, we face another test on October 4. In the upcoming local self-government elections, unmasked internal and external enemies see another opportunity for chaos, a coup d’état, and the fulfillment of their own goals.

More and more people are becoming convinced of their true intentions, and their support is decreasing daily. Today, state institutions in Georgia are stronger than ever, and this convinces them that they have only one remaining chance — which means even greater radicalism and direct attacks on their own state and, consequently, on the people.

On this backdrop, on October 4 we have the chance to once again show everyone that our struggle today is about going to the polls, making a free choice, and preserving peace and stability. Today we have the opportunity to finally and peacefully confirm the peaceful victory achieved in 2012, to make radicalism and confrontation a thing of the past, and then to fight for greater development and prosperity, the complete eradication of poverty, the strengthening of sovereignty, and the peaceful reunification of the country!” Ivanishvili said.